Freelance Savior Fantasy novel (approximately 1000 pages) Aimed toward ages 13+ Synopsis: Ethan, having forsaken a dark past long ago, has become content being a traveling freelance for both peculiar and dangerous jobs. Unfortunately, he is on a deadly collision course with political embroilments between the upper echelons of his misguided nation Elance. Making matters worse, he crosses the path of Jinnora, a selfish, clever and talented rogue who sees what Ethan is truly capable of and refuses to leave him alone until they are a working duo – if only that was her sole reason. For years, Ethan has done well to avoid his dark past and the tribulations of Elance’s people. Yet as political gears grind violently, he is faced with the decision to turn from those in dire need of help, or to become what he has never wanted to be – a savior. Sometimes the hardest feat in life, is to take a chance on doing what is right. So, do you think this synopsis would interest a reader 13+? Have any suggestions?
A story concept means nothing. I can tell you now, it has been done before. What matters is how you write it, the characterization, the flow, the imagery, all of it. There's no point to asking what other people think of the concept! They'll either say,"Sounds great," or, "it sounds like a ripoff of..." If the idea stirs you, write it. Then ask people what they think of the final story. After they tell you what they don't like about it, revise it, usually several times, until you're happy with it or until you throw up your hands and say the hell with it. Please read this thread about What is Plot Creation and Development? (and yes, this is a template post, which should give you an idea of how often this comes up.)
To be honest, I am writing it - six chapters so far. But I also enjoyed the process of writing a synopsis for it, and wanted to know what people thought of it. Writing a synopsis on this site may have been done before, but I'd still value people's opinions on what I've written. I'm unsure if I want to post parts of my story here yet, as I've never posted my content on a site before. I wanted to get a feel for how my ideas were handled and if posting my content on a website was what I'm looking for to help my story writting. I would still appreciate some feedback. Then perhaps I might better gauge if want to share more of my story in progress for review.
Would I be correct in assuming the there would be a healthy dose of political influence in this story, as the synopsis seems to suggest? If so, that may not go over well with a young teen. I know it depends on the person reading it, but I myself am eighteen and I'm still incredibly bored by politics. If it's fairly simplistic political mumbo-jumbo (for instance, Star Wars--the Empire is evil! We must commit high treason!), it could work for a thirteen-year-old. Off-topic edit: Interesting. Either something has gone wrong and my newest post didn't go through, or I've stumbled upon my first moderator who will delete relevant posts on a whim. Let's see if anything happens with this one.
I'm not so much looking at the Synopsis as the details. A thousand pages for a young adult book seems a bit long. "political embroilments between the upper echelons of his misguided nation Elance" - I doubt a 13 year old would understand this I'm not so sure that politics fits into a young adult market. Maybe you could make this work I don't know. I'd have to see the writing. But I don't think politics are what excites young readers.
YA readers could understand politics on some levels, and it is always interesting to learn--if it is well written. My comment beyond the synopsis is the 1000 page goal. That would translate to roughly 300,000 words? It is difficult enough to get a first novel published. The odds are very very high against. Submitting to an agent or an editor a proposal with such a length attached, makes the chances of success even less likely to occur. It is not as if you're that far into the novel and have invested the time in the 300,000 words. Cut it down by a third at least, and give yourself a better chance. Just my two cents. Terry
I didn't even notice the "1000 pages" part. If you're planning on publishing, as it seems you are, I'd definitely go with a smaller page goal. As in, more like a quarter or a third of that. The reason for that is perhaps just as serious as actually getting the thing published: the readers. I don't know what it's like where you live, but around here, convincing a kid to read more than a hundred pages is like convincing him to swallow a live grenade. No force in heaven, hell, or anywhere in between would convince him to read a thousand pages. The short version: I think that a thousand pages is WAY too long for a young adult novel. Even for a full adult novel.
Wow, I really appreciate the feedback! Being that my thread hasn't been locked... lets begin. My rational was, the youngest age I wanted reading this book was 13 - I may have went about posting my aimed ages wrong. I went at this book with a fairly uncensored voice but at the same time, I don't think I've put anything "R-rated" in it, so that's how I ended up with 13+ (akin to PG-13). I think the audience (age-wise) I'm after is those who have read Eragon, or a majority of books written for fantasy games. I suppose that it wouldn't be often that a 13 year old would pick up an epic fantasy 1000p book, yet I would be able to sleep at night knowing that I didn't put anything in there that I wouldn't want my own child (not that I have one ) to read. As for the concerns of politics, no, it isn't heavy with politics; I may revise based on those concerns. The politics are the results/environments that my characters are waving through. Also, if I decide to post the book's content, you can judge for yourself if I've put too much political theme into the book. Now then, page numbers. I think I could easily fill a 1000 pages with the world and characters I've made. Yet after reflecting on all your suggestions, perhaps I will hold back some of my content for the second book and focus more on the main story. Maybe 600-700 pages? Overall, I really appreciate everyone's input and has made me a little more confident in posting it's content for review. To be honest, it needs an editor's hand. I'm more than confident in my story lines, but my writing skills are average at best. Thanks again, everyone.
hi, i love reading and i love reading long books i am 13 and if you are now looking at 600/700 i would strongly advise you to cut it down to between 200-400 pages, i know that long books can be a put of for people my age and wether thats the age for the book or not many will not pick it up.
Jeredin, Before you set yourself on a length, before really beginning, check out publisher guidelines to see what they are interested in seeing sent to them by first time authors. Most agents will be in alignment with that, if you go the representation route. Fantasy, most are looking for as low as 80,000 with some up to 130,000 words. Those are mainly adult fantasy markets (think Tor, DAW, Baen). You are still talking over 200,000 words with 600-700 pages. In the end, it is your choice, and how extra high of a hurdle (one which is already set very high) you want to set for yourself to succeed with attempting to sell (get published) your first novel. As far as the writing skills--you'd better work on those as well. Average probably won't cut it, especially if you're going to go for an extra long novel submission. Excellent would be more the case. Is it impossible to sell an extraordiarily long novel the first attempt? No, it is not. Again, from what I have read--depending on the source and what they consider 'published'--for every novel completed and submitted at least once, between 0.5 and 2% of those novels will ever see publication--and those count established authors in the mix. For the major publishers, the odds are in the low end, if that high, for a first time author attempting to break in. For them, just making it out of the slush pile for a full read (if you go that route) is around 1 in 100. And those that are accepted from those is a small fraction. One positive note, is that while writing your novel, your skills are bound to improve, and that by the time you finish it (whatever length) the ending will contain writing superior to the beginning. Yes, there will be revision and editing, but overall the work will be much better than it started out as. Again, just my two cents. Terry
Yeah, I work in a Borders, and no teen is going to pick up a 1000pg novel. Even LOTR isn't that long. Setting a page goal probably isn't the best way to write a novel anyway...if you can write 20k words worth of really great material, is it really worth detracting from that with mediocre writing just to pad it out? And if you feel like you can do enough with the story to justify that much writing, consider sequels. I should admit I'm not a fantasy reader at all, so I'm basing my judgements on contemporary lit not genre fic, but still, I think a shorter novel would be better, especially for teens.
I agree that a first novel shouldn't be 1000+ pages long but I will say I was one of those teenagers who always searched for the longer books...I hated the shorter ones. I liked anything ranging from 500 to 900 pages, but I was definitely the exception to the rule. ~Lynn
Again, thank you all so much. You have all helped me out significantly with your input. It would seem I've been too anxious in my goals. I already had plans for this story to be a trilogy, yet my first book, at the least needs to be shorted/refined for my audience and for publishing's sake. I'm still undecided whether I want to put its content on a site, yet at the same time I would greatly value input on it. Conflicted, I shall mull it over some. As for my writing skills, they have and continue to increase along with my writing voice. That aside, I'm still not too proud to shun away an editor if it will bring my vision into a better light. Lastly, I'm pleased that I've received no critical writing critiques of my synopsis. I must be doing something right. Thanks again.
The synopsis sounds fine, good even. The real question, as always, is whether the story is written well enough to hold the reader's interest. I hope you'll post bits of it later on -- after posting 2 constructive critiques, of course. I'd be interested to read it.
" I hope you'll post bits of it later on -- after posting 2 constructive critiques, of course. I'd be interested to read it."
